Peter Logan’s 2017 Mudgee Ridge of Tears Shiraz and 2017 Orange Ridge of Tears Shiraz are really chalk and cheese — quite different reds in style, given that the vineyards they’re made from are only 70 kilometres or so apart as the crow flies.
The two wines certainly provide a fascinating insight into the diversity of the NSW Central Ranges terroir — and they both show a definite sense of place.
Young Jake Sheedy, who assists Peter with the winemaking, sticks his neck out socially when he describes the style of the two wines in terms of sexuality.
“It’s a bit like having two kids — a sporty boy and an angelic girl,” he said.
“They are both the apple of your eye but for very different reasons.
“The Mudgee has a bit more guts and holds its oak. It’s more of an Aussie classic.
“The Orange has a feminine elegance and is arguably more European in style.”
I’d like to see Jake explain that concept to a Viking.
Peter Logan is more PC in his assessment — “These wines are essentially an expression of the terroir of their respective Mudgee and Orange vineyards. We like to let the nuances of these regions sing, so there is minimal winemaking intervention at play.
“The Orange vineyard experiences cool-to-mild days and cold nights, being 400 metres higher in altitude with ancient volcanic soils. The lower Mudgee vineyard, which still sits at 564 metres altitude, has warm days, cold nights and ironstone and quartz gravelly-loam soil.”
The two reds certainly form an interesting comparative tasting.
WINE REVIEWS
Pig in the House 2018 Organic Shiraz ($25): There’s also a cabernet sauvignon in this pairing and it should be no surprise that I come out in favour of the shiraz. It’s a soft, rich full-bodied red that demands to be taken to a good Italian bistro and matched with red-sauced pasta. Oh, and it’s a triumph for modern winemaking and the technology behind it.
Logan 2017 Orange Ridge of Tears Shiraz ($50): An elegant and fragrant dry red, with, as the notes say, red fruits, earthiness and black pepper to the fore. And you can see Jake finishing the description: “Delicious, accessible, fun yet complex, this is a pretty wine that will work brilliantly with most modern dishes.”
WINE OF THE WEEK
Logan 2017 Mudgee Ridge of Tears Shiraz ($50): This is the sort of red that keeps bringing me back to Mudgee. To again quote the winemaker’s notes, it’s muscular and brooding. I’d be enjoying it over coming months with a bowl of rich cold-weather casserole, or setting in the cellar for a decade and then pairing it with a bowl of rich cold-weather casserole. And I agree completely that the wine calls for an accompanying fireplace.
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